Eastbourne: Protest to be held over county council's bus lane proposals

In 2022, East Sussex County Council (ESCC) was awarded £41.4 million from the government to implement its Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) bid.

The plan seeks to reduce traffic congestion and journey times, tackle vehicle emission, and ‘significantly’ grow bus patronage in the county, according to ESCC.

Under the proposals, ESCC could implement new bus lanes in Seaside and St Anthony’s Avenue. The authority said the scheme would save up to seven minutes of journey time, per bus travelling eastbound and westbound.

However, the council faced criticism over these plans due to fears it could negatively impact local businesses and residents by removing parking spaces.

Jodie Atherton, who works for DB Domestics in Seaside and has been campaigning against the bus lanes since 2023, previously told the Eastbourne Herald she believes the changes could ‘potentially put a lot of people out of business’.

Following the response from residents, ESCC voted to seek an extension from the government to change the design, and the authority is set to make a final decision on the proposals at a meeting next Monday (November 18).

An ESCC spokesperson said: “The revised proposals being considered by the lead member are part of the county’s ambitious Bus Service Improvement Plan, aimed at ensuring residents and visitors can enjoy the highest possible quality bus services, improving air quality and helping the county to reduce its carbon footprint."

ESCC said its new plan will ‘retain existing parking spaces wherever possible’ and introduce new spaces to ‘offset the removal of some parking spaces that allow the new bus lanes’.

The plan documents state: “We have kept as many spaces as possible and added a small number where we can.

"We have also performed studies to check how many people are using the parking through the day to make sure we won’t be making life harder for local people.”

The plan also seeks to remove several right-hand turn lanes and central islands, and relocate, add or remove new pedestrian crossings.

The revised designs can be found here.

Ms Atherton said her concerns ‘are even greater than before’, following the release of the new plans, and believes the removal of central islands in St Anthony’s could put ‘vulnerable’ people at risk.

She said: “There are a number of care homes, schools and pre-schools [in the area].

"To remove [the islands] and not introduce any replacement is obscene and shows no regard for the safety of the people who use the area.

“This plan will cause so much idle traffic and congestion, which is not only the complete opposite to which this money was allocated, but it is dangerous!”

Ms Atherton is set to lead other local residents and business owners in a protest outside County Hall ahead of the council’s decision on Monday (November 18) morning.

She has appealed to the public to attend and show the council ‘how much we do not want or need this bus lane’.

The ESCC spokesperson added: “The feedback from a second public consultation held in the summer, along with officer recommendations, will be considered by the lead member before a decision is made on whether the revised Seaside and St Anthony’s bus priority scheme should proceed to detailed design and construction stage.”